Since my readers ask many questions about my work, I hereby reply to the request for "Ten things I would like my readers to know about me" by including answers to a few of those questions along with my own sharing.

How do you decide where to set each novel?

I live in Arkansas, USA. The primary settings for all my books are in Arkansas, and are realistically described. Though these places are of great interest to me and are also popular with tourists and Arkansans who visit in person, writing for those people is not my only focus. My desire is also to share these special places with readers world-wide who will enjoy them only in the pages of a book. (Secondary sites that will be bombed, burned, or provide a setting for criminal action leading to severe damage, are fictitious.) For years I've been learning about the atmosphere, if not the photographic reality, of many locations I will never see in person by reading about them within the pages of mystery novels. For example: I am sure St Mary Mead is not a real village, but I assume reading about it in an Agatha Christie novel gives me a taste of what English villages were (and maybe are) like.

Do readers ever suggest book settings?

Yes, and I always listen, but make the final selection of a story setting on my own. When a story site is under consideration I visit the location, and, generally, spend time looking around quietly and getting a feeling ("vibes?") for the place. If something there begins to say "story" to me, active plot planning and location research will begin.

What about people who live or work in locations you have chosen? Are they generally okay with your plans?

More than okay. Quite often they become so enthusiastic during the beginning work on "their" novel that, when helping me with research, (and often allowing me in places where the public does not go), they begin getting so involved in the story that they make plot suggestions.Then we have a wonderful time together!

Do you model characters after people you know?

Not consciously, but I've had the opportunity to observe people in many settings for many years. My knowledge and interest in humanity--with all its variety and peculiarity--definitely does give reality and color to my book people. But, as for copying a real person into a specific character, no, I don't do that.

How about authors who say they get back at enemies or at people who have wronged them by making them a villain or killing them in a story, changing only the name and maybe a few personal details. Do you do that?

Goodness, no! The very idea shocks me. I will say, however, that, to my knowledge, my life has been free of enemy-making. And, I also wonder if killing your enemies in a novel might not open you to potential legal action or retaliation if individuals think they recognize themselves.

Have you been interested in writing all your conscious life?

What inspired you to begin writing for publication? At no time during my early life did I think I'd become a professional writer until my husband and I, looking ahead to retirement, bought rural land in Arkansas and began spending weekends in a small cabin the two of us built there. I found so much that I thought was unique and interesting among our Ozarks hills and hollows that I wanted to share it with others. I wrote and sold my first essay about Ozarks life ("Where Hummingbirds Matter") in 1986. For ten years after that I continued writing feature articles and essays--always set in the Arkansas Ozarks--for many publications. I also had my own radio program of Ozarks news for ten years. My non-fiction book, "Dear Earth: A Love Letter from Spring Hollow," a collection of Ozarks adventures, was published in 1995.

What about your "To Die For" mystery novels--when did you write your first one, and why?

After "Dear Earth" came out and was welcomed by readers, I wanted to continue writing for publication. So--what, and why? I enjoyed reading what we call cozy mysteries, (fairly gentle mysteries--mild when it comes to swearing, sex, horror, or violence). People had shown an interest in the Ozarks, and I wondered if I could write a mystery, using an Ozarks setting and an Ozarks theme. "A Valley to Die For" sold to a publisher in 2001 and was released in 2002. "Music to Die For" came out in 2003.

So, is showcasing the Ozarks your purpose in continuing to write this mystery series?

Only partly. I really enjoy working in and with settings I have chosen. That was particularly true with my most recent novel, "A Portrait to Die For," number eight in my series. I especially enjoyed the study of art history at University, worked for a time at Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and feel very much at home in any art museum. When Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, opened in Bentonville, AR in 2011 it was a setting that immediately inspired me. Crystal Bridges simply had to be the lead setting in an upcoming novel. But, in addition, and going more deeply, I have realized that the general background theme in all my novels is redemption. My stories are about people (mainly, my major characters, Carrie McCrite and Henry King,) helping individuals deeply involved in one human problem or another. Carrie is very sensitive to people in desperate trouble, and is drawn into trying to solve their difficulties. That pulls her, and often friends and family, into desperate and dangerous circumstances. And, whether it's a musician focused on career success rather than the needs of his wife and child, a mentally damaged war vet, criminals protecting their turf, or Carrie's husband, former Police Major Henry King, there are hurting people who experience a redemptive awakening as part of the story. It can be brought on by circumstances within the story, or maybe a type of spiritual experience, but it's there. I have even found writing about some of my character's awakenings can be helpful to me.

How about your life now? You're married, live in the Ozarks, and . . . ?

My husband John and I have retired from former careers and both of us are now involved almost full time in my writing career. We recently simplified our life by moving from 23 acres in the rural Ozarks to a condo in town where I continue to create stories, help design and write publicity material, schedule events and signings, attend conferences, write talks, and keep up with social networking. I work closely with my publisher (Oak Tree Press) and publicist, and also with the writers' critique group I founded here twenty years ago. John handles all financial records and legal matters, keeps track of book stock, takes care of some e-mail queries, helps me with technology blips, and--as he says--is my chauffeur and baggage handler for all book-related events in whatever location. (Not to mention being my best friend and companion!)

So--what next?

I plan to continue writing about the adventures of Carrie McCrite, Henry King, and their friends and family. A fellow author and long-time good friend, Marilyn Meredith from California, says she plans to keep writing her series because she enjoys spending time with her book people and is eager to learn what they are going to be doing next. I can certainly identify with that. Hmmm. What about an anthology of Carrie and Henry short stories? Now, that sounds like fun. It usually takes me from one to two years to complete a book, and short stories in various places mean moving around quite a bit for research, so . . . I'd better get started!

Radine Trees Nehring

Radine Trees Nehring